Clear Query Order Constraints with reorder()

Use reorder() to clear previous orderBy clauses from a query builder before applying new sorting constraints.

When working with base query scopes or repository methods that already include an orderBy clause, calling orderBy() again appends a secondary sort rather than replacing the primary sort.

reorder() removes previously assigned order clauses cleanly.

Code Examples

use App\Models\User;

// Base query has default alphabetical ordering
$query = User::orderBy('name', 'asc');

// 1. Completely remove all ORDER BY clauses (runs without order constraints)
$unordered = (clone $query)->reorder()->get();

// 2. Clear previous sort and apply new ordering
$recentUsers = $query->reorder('created_at', 'desc')->get();
// SQL: select * from `users` order by `created_at` desc

Key Benefits

• Scope Overrides: Safely override hardcoded sorting rules defined in model global or local query scopes.
• Clean Reset: Calling ->reorder() without arguments resets the query's internal $orders array to empty.
• Direction Flexibility: Accepts new column and direction arguments ('asc' or 'desc') in a single fluent call.